If you are creating something new, like sample sentences, a poem, a story or an essay, then you are copying from no source, the output is being generated by statistical probability. It is generating something new that has not existed before. This also applies to image generators, whose neural engines have been trained to know which pixels to arrange in which way to generate an image. It does not copy and thus does not plaigiarise.
The fact that text or image generators can imitate styles generally falls under fair use, in the same way budding artists have sat before paintings to paint their pwn versions, for centuries. They are doing this for learning purposes. As a teacher I am allowed to at any time create an essay "in the style of" even without using AI.
When looking up a fact or asking a question, most AI tools now provide sources for verification and attribution and all users of these tools would do well to ALWAYS attribute and cite their AI use. It is important for us teachers to model ethical use. A collegaue of mine always puts attribution of her AI use on her worksheets. Yet, as it is not customary to put sources of materials on worksheets whether AI or not, most do not do it.
I have found that genAI like ChatGPT or Claude.ai will REFUSE to reproduce copyrighted material, for example song lyrics. Instead they point towards sources where these can be found.
Here are some thoughts by Leon Furze on the subject
Gracias! Not really. My posts here are focused on the implications and applications of generative AI tools on education, and are firmly and purposefully practical in nature, as I train and coach students as well as teachers on ethical, responsible and efficient use.
Terrific list. Nice to see another language teacher on Substack.
I like to work with AI to come up with short narratives and the standard follow up exercises ... But I really like make AI videos for the narratives as listening exercise material .... The voices are getting better and you can slow down the pace. I use Vidnoz because they give you 3 free minutes every day to make videos and the free voices are not bad.
Thanks! Yes, I'm waiting patiently for video capabilities to improve before integrating into my workflows. Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. Do you know/use animate from audio by Adobe? Also really cool, especially for young children and teenagers.
Another great article with lots of useful tips. Thanks! I'm interested in your Teacher Tip for #8. Can you say more about your method/workflow for keeping a prompt library? How exactly do you save and store your prompts so you can easily find them when you need them again? Do you use a specific tool (e.g. canned replies), keep them in a note taking app, or something else entirely? Would love to learn from you what works well because this is an area I have not yet found a solution I'm happy with.
Thanks! I'm a big believer in digital notes and my brain has been in Evernote for a while :)
I store EVERYTHING there. Really easy to find something you are looking for. You can create specific ones for your classes, according students' needs. Just create a note and copy/paste your prompts - for example, like this
Write a lesson plan for students in [grade level] on [topic].
1. Give me 3 differentiated activities for independent practice. Create them at three levels of difficulty. Call them "mild", "medium", and "spicy".
a. Adapt the activity [X] to suit students with [specific learning needs].
i. Give me a list of the most important [terms/events/people/characters] that will help students with this assignment.
2. Give me a summary of this lesson in 10 complete sentences that students can use as notes for review. [Include key points and important dates].
3. Give me 5 discussion questions that require critical thinking and relate to these notes.
a. Give me an analysis of these questions.
i. Rewrite the answers so that a 5-year-old can understand them.
4. Give me a summary of the lesson with notes and activities for absent students to complete at home.
Any use of AI in creating teaching materials is plagiarism -- unless each source used by AI is properly quoted, cited, documented.
If you are creating something new, like sample sentences, a poem, a story or an essay, then you are copying from no source, the output is being generated by statistical probability. It is generating something new that has not existed before. This also applies to image generators, whose neural engines have been trained to know which pixels to arrange in which way to generate an image. It does not copy and thus does not plaigiarise.
The fact that text or image generators can imitate styles generally falls under fair use, in the same way budding artists have sat before paintings to paint their pwn versions, for centuries. They are doing this for learning purposes. As a teacher I am allowed to at any time create an essay "in the style of" even without using AI.
When looking up a fact or asking a question, most AI tools now provide sources for verification and attribution and all users of these tools would do well to ALWAYS attribute and cite their AI use. It is important for us teachers to model ethical use. A collegaue of mine always puts attribution of her AI use on her worksheets. Yet, as it is not customary to put sources of materials on worksheets whether AI or not, most do not do it.
I have found that genAI like ChatGPT or Claude.ai will REFUSE to reproduce copyrighted material, for example song lyrics. Instead they point towards sources where these can be found.
Here are some thoughts by Leon Furze on the subject
https://leonfurze.com/2023/09/20/generative-ai-plagiarism-and-cheating/
Good insight 😌 Can i translate part of this article into Spanish with links to you and a description of your newsletter?
Yes no problem. Please relink here so I can see it.
Thank you very much, Alicia.
This is the article:
https://cienciasocial.substack.com/p/como-pueden-utilizar-los-educadores
Have you got a description of your newsletter to include in the article?
Gracias! Not really. My posts here are focused on the implications and applications of generative AI tools on education, and are firmly and purposefully practical in nature, as I train and coach students as well as teachers on ethical, responsible and efficient use.
Thanks, Alice, I will include this in the description of your newsletter now.
Maybe you want to restack it with something like this:
"My article has also been selected and translated into Spanish to reach new audiences."
Terrific list. Nice to see another language teacher on Substack.
I like to work with AI to come up with short narratives and the standard follow up exercises ... But I really like make AI videos for the narratives as listening exercise material .... The voices are getting better and you can slow down the pace. I use Vidnoz because they give you 3 free minutes every day to make videos and the free voices are not bad.
Thanks! Yes, I'm waiting patiently for video capabilities to improve before integrating into my workflows. Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. Do you know/use animate from audio by Adobe? Also really cool, especially for young children and teenagers.
Another great article with lots of useful tips. Thanks! I'm interested in your Teacher Tip for #8. Can you say more about your method/workflow for keeping a prompt library? How exactly do you save and store your prompts so you can easily find them when you need them again? Do you use a specific tool (e.g. canned replies), keep them in a note taking app, or something else entirely? Would love to learn from you what works well because this is an area I have not yet found a solution I'm happy with.
Thanks! I'm a big believer in digital notes and my brain has been in Evernote for a while :)
I store EVERYTHING there. Really easy to find something you are looking for. You can create specific ones for your classes, according students' needs. Just create a note and copy/paste your prompts - for example, like this
Write a lesson plan for students in [grade level] on [topic].
1. Give me 3 differentiated activities for independent practice. Create them at three levels of difficulty. Call them "mild", "medium", and "spicy".
a. Adapt the activity [X] to suit students with [specific learning needs].
i. Give me a list of the most important [terms/events/people/characters] that will help students with this assignment.
2. Give me a summary of this lesson in 10 complete sentences that students can use as notes for review. [Include key points and important dates].
3. Give me 5 discussion questions that require critical thinking and relate to these notes.
a. Give me an analysis of these questions.
i. Rewrite the answers so that a 5-year-old can understand them.
4. Give me a summary of the lesson with notes and activities for absent students to complete at home.
Excellent, thanks. As it happens, I'm an Evernote user too, so I will give this a try.